Grey Day

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“Grey Day”
“Grey Day” cover
Single by Madness
from the album 7
Released April 17, 1981
Format 7"
12"
Recorded 1981
Genre Pop
Length 3:40
Label Stiff Records
Writer(s) Mike Barson
Producer Clive Langer
Alan Winstanley
Madness singles chronology
"Return of the Los Palmas 7"
(1981)		 "Grey Day"
(1981)		 "Shut Up"
(1981)
7 track listing
Side One
  1. "Cardiac Arrest"
  2. "Shut Up"
  3. "Sign of the Times"
  4. "Missing You"
  5. "Mrs. Hutchinson"
  6. "Tomorrow's Dream"
Side Two
  1. "Grey Day"
  2. "Pac-A-Mac"
  3. "Promises Promises"
  4. "Benny Bullfrog"
  5. "When Dawn Arrives"
  6. "The Opium Eaters"
  7. "Day on the Town"

"Grey Day" is a pop song written by Mike Barson and recorded by British pop/ska band Madness.[1] The song was the first single released from the band's third studio album 7.[2] It was big departure from their early ska sound with much darker, miserable feel.

The song was written prior to band becoming a success in the UK music scene, and the first performance of the song came back in 1978 at the Acklam Hall while the band were known as "The North London Invaders".[2] The song was finally recorded in 1981 and was released as a single on April 17, 1981. The song spent 10 weeks in the UK Singles Chart, reaching a high of number 4.[2]

Contents

[edit] Music video

Madness performing in Bowmans.
Madness performing in Bowmans.

The music video for the single was filmed in March 1981. The majority of the video was shot on an open top bus as it drove around London, and in Bowmans shop window on Camden High Street, where the band performed the song.[2]

[edit] Appearances

"Grey Day" is one of Madness' most anthologised singles. In addition to its single release and appearance on the album 7, "Grey Day" also appears on the Madness collections Divine Madness (a.k.a. The Heavy Heavy Hits), Complete Madness, It's... Madness, The Business and Our House. It also features on all four US Madness retrospectives, Madness, Total Madness, Ultimate Collection and The Millennium Collection.

[edit] Formats and track listings

These are the formats and track listings of major single releases of "Grey Day".

  • 7" Single
  1. "Grey Day" (Barson) - 3:37
  2. "Memories" (Foreman) - 2:24
  • 12" Single
  1. "Un Paso Adelante!" (Campbell) - 2:18
  2. "Baggy Trousers" (McPherson/Foreman) - 2:46
  3. "Grey Day" (Barson) - 3:37
  4. "Take It Or Leave It" (Thompson/Barson) - 3:27

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ "Allmusic.com 7 overview". Retrieved on July 21, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d "The Madness Timeline: 1981". Retrieved on July 21, 2007.
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